Among Donald Trump’s endorsements, one holds a special place in his heart: Kari Lake
With her obsessive insistence on unproven election fraud, the Arizona GOP nominee holds a special place in Trump’s eye.
Donald Trump loves all the candidates he endorses, so long as they win.
But at Mar-a-Lago fundraisers and rallies for Republican candidates, one beneficiary of his political largesse is more likely to come up than others — Kari Lake.
Trump, aides say, has delighted in watching Lake’s rise, seeing echoes of his own. A former TV news anchor-turned-right-wing gubernatorial candidate in Arizona, she, like him, has delighted in sparring with the media and made repeated falsehoods about the 2020 election the centerpiece of her campaign. Her monomaniacal focus on that topic, in fact, has made even Trump himself blush.
“It doesn’t matter what you ask Kari Lake about – ‘How’s your family?’ And she’s like, ‘The family’s fine but they’re never going to be great until we have free and fair elections,’” the former president has frequently recounted to donors, according to a source close to Trump’s political operation. “He was like, ‘You could ask her, how’s the weather?’ And she’ll turn it into the election. ‘Oh, the weather in Phoenix is OK, but you can never have great weather unless the election is fair.’”
Over the past year Lake has appeared with Trump at rallies and spotted at Mar-a-lago events. She is a favorite guest on conservative shows, although she appeared on Fox News only once during primetime hours. There has been so much buzz around Lake that it has led to speculation in her circles and among her right-wing fans that she could be on Trump’s short list for a potential running mate, should she ultimately become governor and he run again for president. Those familiar with Trump’s thinking say they’re unfamiliar with any such talk and speculation is painfully premature.
“Kari Lake is honored to have the support of President Trump,” said Lake campaign spokesperson Ross Trumble. “She is solely focused on defeating Katie Hobbs and advancing the Arizona First agenda.”
Lake formally secured her party’s nomination on Thursday after a tight primary fight. By Friday, at CPAC in Dallas, she was greeted like a rock star by the crowd of conservative activists.
“Kari Lake won this tough race in which was outspent 10-to-1 by sticking to the key, vital issue that the 2020 election in Arizona, and nationwide, was rigged and stolen,” said Boris Epshteyn, former special assistant to Trump in the White House who worked on the ground in Arizona challenging the election results. “Major reasons why Kari Lake is widely praised is that she has not deviated and she is not scared of the mainstream media, the Democrats, or the RINOs. Kari stuck to the main MAGA issue and she won.”
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A former TV news anchor-turned-GOP candidate for Arizona governor, Kari Lake has delighted in sparring with the media and made repeated falsehoods about the 2020 election the centerpiece of her campaign https://t.co/8O6PI3bDVA
— POLITICO (@politico) August 7, 2022
Brought to you by “decent” and “respectable” and “good” corporate donations who now get the stink of Kari Lake all over their public reputations. https://t.co/8ZGAJnA7ba
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) August 7, 2022
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